


I'd Love You Anywhere

by AgentCoop



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Bottom Ash Lynx, First Time, Knotting, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Porn with Feelings, Scenting, Top Okumura Eiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-03 09:22:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20263117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentCoop/pseuds/AgentCoop
Summary: Disguised as an Alpha from his teens on, Ash never thought he'd have a reason to give up the act. But despite being on suppressants, he has a bleed-through heat and finds himself scared, desperate, and alone.He has no one else to turn to for help besides Eiji, and so he returns to their apartment, a question on his lips born of desperation, but also desire.And Eiji is only too willing to help.***An A/B/O fic with Alpha!Eiji taking care of Omega!AshHappy Birthday Ash!





	I'd Love You Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to [Myka ](twitter.com/mykafl)for the literal hours of work you put into beta reading this. It's my first ever A/B/O fic and GOSH THEY ARE HARD TO WRITE. This is readable, and hopefully enjoyable because of her massive amount of editing <3
> 
> And thanks to [Squeeze ](twitter.com/squeezebabe)for giving it a last read through and making sure everything was good to go!

The knock at the front door of the apartment is unexpected, and Eiji is instantly on guard, looking around for something he might use as a weapon.

_The gun is in the bedroom_, his brain screams, but despite Ash warning him over and over to use it immediately in this sort of situation, something feels…_off_. Instead of heading towards the bedroom, he carefully dog ears the corner of the page he was on, places the book quietly on the glass coffee table, and then stands, padding over to the door in bare feet.

The knock comes again, more frantic sounding this time. Then, there’s a key in the lock and the door swings open.

Eiji jumps out of the way as Ash enters. “Why did you knock instead of...?” he starts, then stops.

Ash looks wrecked. His hair is plastered to his face with sweat, and his pupils are dilated, making the green ring around them so faint Eiji can barely see it. “Hey,” he grunts, pushing the door closed behind him and slumping back against it. “Hey, I…I need a favor.”

“Okay,” Eiji says. There’s a smell about him, something almost vanilla, almost–

Eiji shakes his head. That can’t be right. “Why did you knock?”

“Oh. I’m…fuck,” Ash swears, scratching at the back of his neck.

He can’t even concentrate long enough to put together a full sentence and he looks as though he might rip his skin right off, but when Eiji steps forward, Ash holds up a hand, cuing him to stop.

“Not thinking clearly,” is what he grates out, as though even speaking has suddenly become almost impossible. “Shit. I need help. I need—”

“I did not know that there was an omega in the gang?” Eiji questions, because _that’s_ what the smell is. Omega. In heat. It’s faint—but it’s not fading like he would expect. Ash must have helped someone through a heat, since it’s thick enough on him to smell through clothes, but—

“There isn’t. Well, there is. One…me…fuck, I’m sorry. I need your help.”

“Wait,” Eiji says, blinking and trying to think through the English again, figure out where he’s missed something. He’s wearing Ash’s sweatshirt and it smells like...Ash. The smell is faint, but it’s there—dark and earthy and very much alpha. “I did not understand? You are—”

“You heard me,” Ash whispers. His hands have clenched into fists at his sides, but they tremble, as though he’s holding himself back against the wall with everything he can.

“But I thought that you were…you smell like an alpha.”

“Dino had me on suppressants and blockers. Can’t have an omega in line to take over so he passed me off as an alpha. Stalled my heats indefinitely. I’m sorry I lied to you, I had no intention of ever...of this…” He’s looking anywhere but at Eiji, and his breathing is too fast, too frantic. “Something happened with the suppresants, they aren’t working…” he swallows hard, jaw so tense the line of it pops against his face. “Fuck, you smell really good,” he whispers, before throwing an arm up to cover his nose.

The way he delivers it is all so fast, so clumped together and frantic sounding, and Eiji is certain he’s hearing wrong, certain he’s missed some crucial translation of a word somewhere. “Suppressant abuse?” Eiji finally says, stomach churning with the thought. “It makes omegas barren, Ash. You are probably, you probably can not—”

“I know. It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t have pups anyway, Dino fixed that. It’s fine.”

“What?” Eiji moves towards him and pulls down Ash’s arm. He’s trying to force Ash to look at him, but Ash only whimpers and turns away. Eiji, swallows, considering for just a moment, before growling “Ash look at me!”

Ash freezes and looks.

The guilt hits Eiji immediately, so strong he’s nauseous. It’s been two minutes and he has already fucked this up. He’s already accidentally forced a command on Ash, something he has absolutely no business doing. Letting go of Ash’s arm, Eiji steps back, offering more space between them, trying to shake the surrealness of everything from himself.

Ash whines. “I just need help. I’m sorry, this wasn’t supposed to happen but I don’t know who else to ask—”

“I do not know what I am doing, Ash. There has to…” _Isn’t there anyone else? _He wants to ask, but that makes him sick too, just imagining someone else helping Ash, smelling Ash, tasting him? It makes him want to scream. He does want Ash. It isn’t a surprise to him, it’s merely the blooming of a seed that’s been planted months prior. But he’s already made a mess by growling, by using command voice and making Ash...cower. It makes him sick to his stomach that he has the power to do that, and he’s so unsure, so nervous, so…

Scared.

But Ash’s gaze flickers to him then, fear reflecting back at him. Eiji can see it plain as day.

“There isn’t…” Ash stops. Swallows hard and bites his bottom lip before looking away, just past Eiji, putting up his walls again. “I wanted it to be you,” he whispers. “But I...I understand it–”

“Omega,” Eiji murmurs. The hairs on the back of his neck stand tall with the shiver of anticipation. It suddenly doesn’t matter if he’s never done this, it’s _Ash_. It’s Ash and he’d do anything for him. Anything.

“Ash. Ash, of course I’ll help.” Ash looks up at him, relief plain in his eyes, and Eiji can’t help himself. This desperate need to be closer, he feels it everywhere and he surges suddenly against Ash, nuzzling into his neck, right at the spot that his scent glands are. “Oh,” he whispers against Ash’s creamy white skin. “You really are.” He’d believed Ash, he knows Ash wouldn’t lie about something as serious as _this_ but it’s still a surprise to smell him so clearly. He nuzzles even closer, and that floral vanilla scent opens even further, washing over him, screaming for him to bite, to claim, to—

Eiji draws back quickly, putting a hand to his mouth. There’s a wet imprint of his lips at Ash’s neck, and Ash hasn’t moved, he’s perfectly still, except for the harsh panting of his breath.

“Sorry,” Eiji says, horrified at himself. “I am so sorry, oh my god.” _I have never lost control like that before_, he thinks. _I can’t do this... I can’t do this for him because he smells so good, he smells like…_

_Mate._

“It’s okay,” Ash mumbles, pressing a hand to his own neck.

_Omega. Omega. Omega._

Eiji can’t quite wrap his head around it yet—that Ash is something other than alpha. He has such control over everyone around him that even Eiji has found himself wanting to follow him, to obey him.

But Ash is not. He’s not an alpha, he’s an omega and he’s in heat. It’s clearly taken him by surprise—Ash is nothing if not an obsessive planner, and Eiji is 100% certain he’d never have gone out alone had this been expected. Eiji’s been around Ash long enough now that he can read his body language and the Ash standing in front of him right now is very much afraid.

Eiji has never seen Ash scared. He never cracks, never wavers, and yet right now, he can barely keep himself together. “It is going to be fine” Eiji whispers, but deep down, he’s scared too. He’s had ruts before—back in Japan when he first presented, and then a few years after that. He spent them alone. They were blessedly quick, but he remembers the way he was so desperate to fuck anything at arms length he couldn’t think, the way he blacked out, the way instinct must have taken complete control.

He’s always been too afraid to be with anyone.

And just smelling the strong vanilla scent, just watching Ash shiver in front of him...he wants it so badly he can taste it. And he just doesn’t know if he will be able to control himself.

This is a horrible idea. Eiji knows this like he knows his own heartbeat in his ears. They’ve barely begun this tenuous relationship, and it’s built entirely on trust. What if Eiji goes too far?

_Ash came to you,_ he thinks. _He has no one else. He’s scared. He came to you because he trusts you. His green eyes, his blond hair, his fingers, his arms, his body—he’s perfect. He’s... yours._

“You are really beautiful,” Eiji blurts out, then flushes immediately. It’s so much like the first time he met Ash, when he couldn’t control himself and asked for his gun. It’s so inappropriate in this moment. Ash has laid himself bare and Eiji can’t seem to focus beyond the superficial.

Ash smiles though, a tiny quirk of his lip before he begins to relax. It happens in tiny increments, so small that Eiji might miss it entirely if he weren’t staring straight at him. First his jaw line, then his shoulders, finally his fingers uncurling from their white knuckled fists. “Thank you, Eiji” he whispers. “Thank you.”

The scent is stronger now. It’s spreading through the entire apartment, quickly becoming overwhelming. “Good,” Eiji says. Ash’s glasses are perched haphazardly on his nose, sliding down with sweat. Eiji loves those glasses. Eiji loves it when he looks like this—like Ash might have a normal life in a normal world. He steps forward again and helps Ash shuck off his coat. “Playing Chris again?” he asks. Max’s lingering scent wafts from the coat and it tangles in Eiji’s nose, strong, potent, _wrong._

As soon as the coat comes off, Ash tries to sink down to the floor, but Eiji catches him. He’s exhausted already—even the energy to stand seems to be rapidly fading. “You are lucky you made it back here,” Eiji says.

“Lucky,” Ash murmurs in his ear.

“Yes, lucky you stupid American.” He doesn’t even want to think what would have happened if Ash had been stuck outside on the street when the heat hit. It’s only been ten minutes now, but the heat scent has started coming off of him in waves. There is a new smell now too, more musky, more bitter.

Slick.

“Okay,” Eiji says, pawing at Ash’s sweatshirt and—it smells like Max too. The growl he makes is audible this time, escaping his mouth. “I want you to go take a shower,” he says. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah.” Ash nods.

He doesn’t even question it. “Ash, look at me.” Ash turns his head up, but it’s slow, like it’s taking him all the effort in the world to do it. He smiles though, and that is real and genuine. “You need to take a shower, okay?” Eiji’s sweating now, as though Ash’s green gaze directly on him is too much, too_ intimate_. “Just...clean up,” he says quickly. “I’ll make...food.” His breathing is coming faster, he wants to touch Ash again, wants to be right up against him smelling him, tasting him—

He shivers. His brain is short-circuiting. He wants to push Ash up against the wall, bury his nose in his scent glands, biting, marking, rucking up his shirt, and forcing his scent to cover Max’s–

He wants to scream, and leave the apartment. Not allow himself the chance to hurt Ash.

He wants to bite his tongue, to control it. Eiji’s almost ready to call the whole thing off, to help him into bed and figure out some other way to get through this. Then—

“No natto. If you feed me fucking natto I’m going somewhere else.”

The ridiculousness of the statement shatters his thoughts, his worries, and Eiji laughs. “Fine. No natto. I promise. Just please shower? Or take a bath? You smell like...Max.” He bites his lip, trying to control himself. Saying it aloud makes the jealousy even worse, makes him want to stake his claim in any way possible.

“Oh,” Ash says, considering. “Oh. Okay.”

That momentary lapse into normal Ash is gone, so quickly Eiji can almost believe he’d imagined it. It troubles him hearing Ash sound unsure of anything. Submitting without question. He’s absolutely terrified he’s going to screw up, that he’s going to make some mistake and ruin everything between them. “Do you trust me?” Eiji asks. The scent is almost overwhelming in the small bathroom space, cloying and disgustingly _other-alpha_, and Eiji wants to spit with rage. Instead he concentrates on trying to keep his voice as steady as he can.

“I came to you, didn’t I?” Ash begins unbuttoning his shirt. His fingers are shaking at the fabric, but his eyes are clear again, as though he’s fighting the haziness of heat as hard as he possibly can.

The desire inside of him pools so hot and heavy that he can barely breathe around it. There’s not much time before he’s completely overtaken by Ash. “Ash, I need you to tell me exactly what you need from me.”

“Just you,” Ash mutters, leaning against the cool of the bathroom wall and focusing entirely on his shirt.

“No, tell me what you want me to do. I need to know that you want this. Please?”

Ash groans, then huffs out a very loud, very long sigh. “I want you to do whatever it is that alphas do to omegas. Fuck me. Knot me. Just do it. I trust you, I’m asking you. Only you.”

His voice is shaking with every word, as though the ability to weave coherent sentences is rapidly becoming too much for him. “Okay,” Eiji says. “Okay. Good.”

Ash sighs out, relaxing again, visibly relieved that he’s given the right answer, done the right thing in front of an alpha.

“Just one more thing,” Eiji says.

“Eiji,” Ash whines.

“I know, I know. Just...what will happen with the gang?” Eiji doesn’t want to ask it. Doesn’t want to cause Ash any worry, but it’s a real concern. They’re in the middle of a war against the mafia, and Max has almost enough information to finally make a case. This is…well this might be the worst timing in the universe for Ash to be _indisposed_.

“Taken care of,” Ash mumbles, finally catching the last button and ripping free his shirt. “So itchy…”

“I know, Ash, I know,” Eiji murmurs. Turning on the bath water and testing it with a finger, Eiji turns back to Ash. “How is it taken care of? I just need to know if there is—”

“Shorter knows.” Ash flushes as he says this, but watches Eiji, his gaze hazy again.

“How—”

“Shorter knows. He’s the only one that knows. I told him after…after the first.”

The way his tongue tangles on that first make Eiji sick to his stomach. There’s something there, a story behind it, but it’s strained, dangerous. If he pokes, it might burst. “Okay, so Shorter can handle the...gang stuff.”

Nodding in relief, Ash begins to work at his pants, unzipping and toeing out of them with a huff of sound. He’s sweating—his skin glistens with it—and he’s absolutely beautiful.

He’s never been naked in front of Eiji, not in any of the months they’ve lived together. Eiji remembers the sweetness of Ash’s breath though, the moments that they’ve been close, quiet and still. When they’d sit near each other reading, or watched something on TV. It was always vanilla. Now that smell permeates the air—vanilla and almonds, whipped together so light, so sugary perfect, and the sharp ozone smell of Max ruins it all. Eiji closes his eyes, clenching his teeth together as hard as he can. “Shower,” he manages. “Or bath. Just...get _Max_ off you.”

He backs out of the bathroom, carefully closing the door, before heading down the hall, fisting his hands through his hair and pulling tight, trying so hard to ignore the desire that’s building within him, that’s threatening to burst free.

Eiji sniffs his own shirt. Sniffing the lingering scents of everyone he was close to today. Alex, Bones, Kong. He takes it off and throws it in the laundry.

He needs his own shower.

There’s a guest bathroom across the apartment, far enough away that he can almost escape the wafting smell from the living room. He doesn’t want to scrub the alpha scent from himself completely, knows that it’s something Ash will need, Ash will want, but he needs something to take his mind off Ash’s naked body in the other room and so he sets the spray to frigid cold and steps under it.

It doesn’t work.

The instinctual need is rising, pulling him further apart with every breath he takes. He stays under the water as long as he can bare, body shivering on the outside, but an unwavering flame eating him from within. When he finally steps out, he towels off and dresses in clean sweatpants and a t-shirt before making his way back towards the master bedroom hallway.

There is no sound, but he can smell Ash now, pure Ash. It’s so strong—vanilla and almond notes wafting through the air— that he can barely breathe against the deep ache building inside of him. “Fuck,” Eiji whispers, sweat already starting to bead at the back of his neck. He should help Ash into bed. See if he can sleep a little before the heat truly begins to peak. Then he should be able to slip in next to Ash, to curl around his body, to nuzzle at his neck and scent him and taste him and—

“Fuck,” Eiji mutters again. He can’t stop thinking about it.

He takes a few shallow breaths, but nothing helps as he walks down the hall. The bathroom door is conspicuously still closed, and so Eiji knocks once, then twice when there’s no answer. “Ash?” Finally, he pushes in.

The bathroom is thick with steam, but this has long settled from the air to the surfaces of things, dripping in long streams down the mirror, down the walls. Ash is still in the bath, head lolled back and eyes closed. “Ash” Eiji calls.

Ash moves only enough to open his eyes, then closes them again. “So warm…” he says, syllables so fluid and round in his mouth that Eiji almost doesn’t understand him.

“You stupid American,” Eiji retorts, grabbing a towel from the rack and unplugging the drain. The water is lukewarm at best, but though Ash has goosebumps all up and down his skin, he doesn’t seem particularly inspired to move.

“Was warm,” he mumbles. As soon as Eiji moves to help him from the tub though, his eyes flicker open, pupils dilated. “Alpha,” he moans, nudging his nose against Eiji’s wrist.

He doesn’t even brush skin. Eiji’s wearing Ash’s old sweatshirt again, completely covered, and yet the call of ‘Alpha’ coming from Ash’s mouth is enough to make him hard. He swallows thickly, squeezes his eyes closed for just a moment, then helps Ash from the tub, wrapping a towel around his waist. “Come on. Come to bed. I swear it’s warmer, and I will even help you nest or–”

“Don’t need to nest,” Ash moans. “Want you. Want alpha. Need...I need…”

He’s barely coherent, barely able to shuffle from the bathroom to the bedroom, and Eiji wants him so badly. He helps him sit, watching as a drop of water drips from Ash’s chin to his chest, rolling down his belly. And then he shudders, a full body thing. It’s getting harder and harder to control his thoughts, he wants Ash, he wants Ash right now–

“Alpha,” Ash moans.

It’s too much.

There’s a smile on Ash’s face, small and hesitant but pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Touch me,” he murmurs.

Eiji does. He reaches out, running a finger along the wet trail left by the water droplet, all the way down to Ash’s navel. His skin is soft, and Ash sucks in a breath, holding it while trembling underneath Eiji’s touch. “More,” Eiji says. He’s not asking so much as stating his own needs now, he wants more. He has to have more. He crawls up on the bed, sitting back on Ash’s thighs, knees splayed out. Then he gently pushes against Ash’s shoulder, helping him lie back on the mattress. Ash’s eyes are watching him, his mouth is open ever so slightly and small little whimpers of sound escape.

Eiji’s feels a moment of madness. Of desperate need. His other hand is still positioned against Ash’s belly, and he splays his fingers wide, feeling the ripple of muscle underneath them. “Ash,” he moans.

“Alpha,” Ash groans back.

There it is again. _Alpha_. It flowers within him but doesn’t quite begin to open. There’s something still missing. “Ash,” he moans again, letting his hand slide lower, feeling the dip beneath Ash’s belly before the base of his cock. He presses even further, following the crease of Ash’s thigh deeper and coating his hand in slick.

“Touch me, please,” Ash begs. “Touch me, Alpha, touch me–”

Eiji ruts against him, desperate for friction, his cock hard against Ash’s thigh. It’s still not enough. Nothing is enough. So he leans forward and licks from Ash’s belly to his chest, tasting the saltiness of sweat, letting his tongue lap at the curves of muscle he finds. “Want,” he murmurs against Ash’s skin, licking against Ash’s swollen nipples, then taking one in his mouth and sucking at it. He wants to press his teeth into it. He wants to mark, to prove he’s been here, but instead he contents himself with the loud whimpers of noise that Ash has succumbed to.

He stays focused there for a few minutes, fingers still tracing patterns in the slick below, and tongue circling round the hardened bud, until Ash arches into him.

“Alpha, please. More, please, please–”

Eiji comes up, takes one look at Ash’s flushed cheeks, his labored breathing, and he leans in and kisses him.

It’s soft at first—the barest touch of Eiji’s lips against Ash’s, but Ash chases him for more, pressing into it, and Eiji wants him right that instant, so badly it’s painful. He climbs on the bed, one knee over Ash, bending down and pushing forward. Ash’s mouth is open, panting, desperate and Eiji can’t get enough of his taste. Their tongues meet, and Ash is moaning against Eiji, and Eiji moves to kiss the line of his jaw, to lick at his neck, finding his scent gland. He starts to suck on the skin there, and Ash writhes underneath him, groaning out loud, begging.

Something is still missing.

“Oh god, alpha, alpha please, alpha—”

“Ash.” Eiji draws up short, clenching his teeth together and desperately trying to ignore the pooling desire in his belly. “Ash, say my name.” Ash is huffing underneath him, his chest heaving, his eyes pinched closed, and he’s beautiful, he’s so incredibly perfect, that it’s physically painful. The mattress is already soaked underneath him, the cloying smell of slick, of _sex_ is thick in the air. Eiji rubs his hand down Ash’s inner thigh and watches as his cock jumps, already so impossibly hard, the tip is glistening wet in the glow of the lamplight. Eiji does it again, watches again as it happens. Oh god, he wants to watch the way Ash comes undone, he wants to feel everything, to touch everything, to taste every inch of perfect, milky skin, but most of all, he wants—

“Say my name, Ash, say my name—”

“Eiji,” Ash moans.

Eiji’s chest rumbles with pride. That’s what was missing. Even in the throes of heat, Ash still knows where he is, he still recognizes Eiji, he still knows what’s happening. That simple _Eiji_ on his lips is enough to make Eiji gasp in pleasure. “Good boy,” Eiji groans, and leans forward to lick at Ash’s neck again. Ash keens under him, his panting growing louder, and his cock hard against the fabric of Eiji’s pants into his thigh. “Good boy,” he mumbles again, lips brushing Ash’s scent gland, and then he teeths at it, pressing in just enough to leave an imprint, not a bite, not an actual mark.

Ash jerks, grabbing at Eiji’s forearm tightly, then cums.

It soaks through the front of Eiji’s pants, warm and sticky, and he smiles at Ash’s throat. To have this kind of power, to watch Ash come completely undone with nothing more than the graze of teeth? It’s completely intoxicating. He wants more, he wants everything, but he forces himself back up again to look deeply into Ash’s eyes. “You alright?” he whispers.

Ash is watching him, eyes wide. “So fast,” he murmurs.

“So perfect,” Eiji whispers. He brushes a stray lock of hair from Ash’s face. “You are so perfect.”

Ash’s lower lip is trembling though, and he finally looks away, cheeks flushing red. “That was so...fast.”

“Ash. Look at me.” He doesn’t, and Eiji sighs, cupping his palm against Ash’s jaw, not forcing his head, just circling his fingers in small movements, gentle and calming. The smell of heat has dissipated ever so slightly, and Ash has that hazy look about him, as though he’s ready to pass out. “Do you think you can sleep a bit?”

Ash nods, still refusing to meet his gaze.

“Good,” Eiji whispers. He leans down and gently kisses Ash’s temple. “I promise I will take care of you.”

“This sucks” Ash mumbles. He’s blinking, and then there is water in his eyes, tears he’s trying so hard not to shed. “I hurt. Everything hurts. I can’t stop…I can’t stop thinking about it, about being…” he pauses. Clenches his teeth as though steeling himself. Then swallows hard. “I’m afraid it’s going to hurt. Like when...like when they...”

It’s so quiet, the thread of sound so tenuous and uncertain.

“Ash....” Eiji doesn’t know what to say. What to give him right now, what he needs, and he hates that. He’s Alpha, he’s in control, and Ash is still so scared. It’s physically painful how much that hurts that he’s not providing what Ash needs. “I wish I could promise it won’t,” he finally says, “but I have never done this. I can only promise you that I do not want to hurt you.”

And then Ash is crying, trying to hold it back, but gulping in deep breaths. He curls in on himself, crossing his arms at his stomach. “It’s not…I want you. I want to be with you. I just— ”

He doesn’t finish, and Eiji’s glad. He doesn’t want to fixate on the past, he can’t stomach thinking about it. “I know. I know, I am so sorry.” Eiji relaxes down, blanketing Ash with his body, wrapping his arms around him and nuzzling his nose against the base of Ash’s ear. “I…”_ I love you_, he wants to say. It isn’t a sudden realization. It’s something that’s been growing for months now between them, yet lays unvoiced, and right now is not the time. “It won’t be easy,” he says instead, “but I promise I am going to take care of you. I promise.” Ash is calming within his grip, getting control of himself again. His cock is soft once more against Eiji’s thigh, but Eiji knows that won’t last. He knows that soon Ash won’t be able to get any relief, it will be a constant need to be filled, a desperation that will be almost impossible to match.

They lay like this for a long while, Eiji stroking the side of Ash’s face, both slipping further and further into sleep.

It’s going to get so much worse. The peaks will come faster and stronger until there is barely any room to breathe between them.

It breaks his heart, that Ash wasn’t prepared, that he’s going through this scared. He knows the terror of it, to be so suddenly overtaken with something you cannot control.

But they have each other.

Eiji wakes from a dream to Ash grinding against him, still asleep, small, desperate whimpers falling from his lips. Wincing, Eiji looks over at the clock. 4:17 am. The scent of Ash is heavy and cloying in the air, vanilla, almonds, and now the faintness of apples. It’s so thick Eiji can taste it, and there’s a tangled knot of need deep within his belly. His cock is growing hard just from the smell, and he nudges against Ash’s shoulder with his nose, presses his mouth there, sucking a red mark into Ash’s flesh.

Ash continues to thrust against his leg. The mattress underneath them is soaked with slick, and Eiji swallows thickly, his heart beating loud against his chest. He wants to rub against Ash, he wants it so badly. Eiji pushes himself up just enough that he can get some friction between his cock and Ash’s hip, and rocks against him once, moaning in pleasure. Ash’s thighs are coated in slick, and Eiji reaches a hand down just far enough to dip his fingers in it, then reaches up and sucks them clean, a feral, curious need burgeoning within him. It tastes of bitter musk and even when he swallows, it stays behind, so thick on his tongue. He wants more. He wants to fuck Ash, he wants to knot him, to fill him with pups, he wants—

“Shit,” he groans, trying to rein himself in. “Okay. Okay. Ash?”

Ash just moans. “Alpha,” he murmurs, grinding harder. He reaches out, grabbing Eiji’s wrist so tightly it’s almost painful. “Alpha, please. Please, I need…I need you in me. I need it, I need you in me, alpha, alpha—”

Eiji growls and untangles his limbs, kneeling on the bed. He pushes two fingers against the dip of Ash’s spine, and Ash moves so quickly it’s almost inhuman–burying his face against the mattress, spreading his knees, and pushing his ass up. It’s the most perfect example of submission Eiji can imagine.

His cock is already heavy, bobbing between his thighs with every moment and so he brushes his fingers against the base of Ash’s spine, shuddering as Ash arches even further.

“Alpha...” Ash stutters out. “Alpha…alpha—” he shakes his head, forehead creasing in confusion, then reaches a hand out as though he needs to ground himself.

Eiji’s hand is coated in slick, but he grabs ahold, letting their fingers intertwine. Ash’s is quivering, and Eiji pushes his hand back to the bed, pinning him there. He swallows, grinding against Ash once and another growl escapes his lips. Ash is warm, wet with sweat and slick, and Eiji’s cock slides easily over skin. Little shocks of pleasure hit him with every thrust of his hips, but it’s still not enough.

“Eiji,” Ash whines. “Eiji...I want you.”

His name on Ash’s lips, the quaking of sound as he shakes, desperate for touch. It’s maddening. “Oh Ash,” Eiji moans. He moves behind Ash, his knees over Ash’s thighs. He hasn’t let go, he’s still pinning Ash’s hand to the bed, so he leans over, but now his cock is rubbing at the crease of Ash’s ass. It’s coated in slick, and every time his grinds his hips forward, he can hear the sound of it against Ash, wet and sticky. “You’re so wet,” he whispers, reaching back and dipping another finger in slick before pressing it to Ash’s entrance. “So wet,” he repeats, but the syllables fall hard, turning to a growl.

Ash groans under him and tries to push back against Eij’s finger.

“Ash,” Eiji mumbles again, tracing patterns against the tender skin around Ash’s hole, then dipping lower and brushing against his cock and balls. He ruts against Ash, his cock sliding wetly against Ash’s ass, thrusting and desperate for friction. Then he presses one finger inside of Ash, working it in and out.

“Please!” Ash begs. He’s whimpering now, jerking back and forward as though Eiji’s finger is not enough.

Eiji presses another finger inside Ash, curling it so his knuckle brushes against Ash’s walls.

“Cock,” Ash begs. “Please alpha— ”

By the time he forces a third finger in, Ash has stopped begging. He’s whimpering, and crying underneath Eiji, completely unable to form words, only able to rock back as hard and fast as he can. Ash freezes for a moment, then shudders and cums, spurting across the mattress. His cock is still painfully hard, dripping, and he starts rocking against Eiji again, pushing back with sharp thrusts.

“Eiji,” he cries, pulling at his trapped hand and trying to free himself, then gasping at the effort.

Eiji bites his lip, unable to stop the groan of pleasure that escapes. Ash is so wet, he’s so incredibly wet, and the sound of his slick as Eiji’s fingers work back and forth is impossibly loud against their combined breathing. He growls, a low rumbling from deep inside his throat. He can’t wait any longer.

“Please,” Ash whines and presents for him again, the smell of cum and slick wafting from him.

He’s so ready. Eiji lines up, his swollen and thick alpha cock enormous against Ash’s hole. Steadying a hand on Ash’s hip, he presses the tip forward entering him.

The stuttering gasp that Ash lets out causes Eiji to groan with need. Ash is hot and tight around Eiji’s cock, and he’s careful to move slowly, to press forward bit by bit, but Ash cries out underneath him—a garbled, choked sound of need—and then forces himself back, his hole so tight, yet managing to take Eiji inside completely.

“_Hnnn_,” Eiji moans, every breath he takes full of searing heat, every touch burning against his skin. He starts to pump, thrusting his hips forward, each time bottoming out against Ash.

Ash has fisted one hand in the sheets and his knuckles are white with how tightly he’s gripping. He’s flushed red across his shoulders and neck, and Eiji grabs his hip even tighter, fingers leaving dark marks against Ash’s flesh, tight enough to bruise. His other hand is still braced against the bed, pressed on top of Ash’s, but his arm is starting to shake, his thighs are slapping against Ash with every forward thrust. Ash convulses against him and comes again. Eiji can feel it— can feel the way Ash’s walls tighten around his cock, pulling him in even deeper. It’s too much, he’s gripping Ash tight enough to bruise, and he cums hard, orgasm so intense his vision whites out.

_Mine mine mine._

He can feel it happening—the base of his cock growing bigger, the knot expanding around Ash’s hole, so thick he can hardly move. It’s incredible. There are little pulses of electricity every time he cums, spurting inside_ his_ omega, and it’s pure bliss. Eiji noses against the crook of Ash’s neck, worrying at the scent gland and licking it again. All he has to do is bite down and Ash will be his, completely his.

But he doesn’t. He holds back, steadying, directing all of his attention to Ash, who’s shuddering against him again.

“Alpha,” Ash cries. He presses a hand to his belly, rubbing at it. “I can feel you,” he murmurs. “I can feel you inside of me.” Ash shudders, tightening even further around Eiji’s cock.

“Good boy,” Eiji growls and licks along Ash’s gland, leaning down to pepper kisses along his spine. His knot is still hard inside of his omega, but Ash relaxes into the sound of his voice, and so Eiji begins to move again, small, tiny motions, circling his hips so gently that it’s almost imperceptible. Ash moans underneath him, so he knows he’s hitting the right place, and focuses on doing it over, and over again, shivering with every single sound from Ash’s lips. “Good boy,” Eiji croons, not letting up, wrapping his hand around Ash’s cock and watching Ash pant against him, breaths coming faster and harsher until—

He keens, long and loud and cums one last time, milky white against Eiji’s grasp, so thick that it doesn’t even drip.

“Ash,” Eiji sighs. Ash slumps forward onto the bed, and Eiji follows him, still inside him, unable to separate. He’s sweaty against Ash, he’s so warm and everything is fuzzy and hazy, everything is surreal. “Ash,” he murmurs at Ash’s neck, watching the way the fine golden hairs move with his breath.

Ash whimpers against him, the sound going straight to Eiji’s knot. “Alpha,” Ash mumbles. “Want...”

“You did so good,” Eiji whispers again.

Ash tries to respond, but his tongue catches thickly on the syllables and his voice stutters out in a long whine.

They stay tangled in the sheets for almost an hour until Eiji’s knot deflates, and he can pull out of Ash with a wet pop, slick and cum dripping onto the bed. “I’m going to get a wet towel,” Eiji says. “Wipe you down, and then I want you to sleep, alright?I’ll bring you food and water. You need to hydrate before the next—”

Ash turns his head so quickly, Eiji is forced to cut off. “Wait,” he pants, his voice hoarse, still barely coherent. “That...wasn’t all?”

And it suddenly hits Eiji how much Ash doesn’t know. He really doesn’t know what a heat is like, how long it can take, what’s coming. Ash’s face is so bare, not completely shuttered like usual, and Eiji can see every single emotion play across his face in an instant. He looks nervous, then confused, then like he wants to cry, but most of all, he looks completely dazed. “Ash,” Eiji starts, taking Ash’s hand and drawing it to his mouth for a kiss. “Ash, it’s going to be fine.”

Rolling over, Ash curls up against him, tucking his head against Eiji. Eiji can feel every breath against his skin, hot and steady. “First is hard,” Eiji says, resting his chin against Ash’s hair. “Did it feel good? Was it...was it good?”

Ash nods, and buries his nose into Eiji’s collarbone.

“Okay. They can all feel like that, Ash. Do you trust me?”

He nods again, smaller this time. His eyelashes brush against Eiji’s skin and it tickles, light, delicate, and perfect.

“Good,” he smiles. “Rest now. I am going to clean you up and then we will get ready again. Together.”

“I trust you,” Ash whispers.

Eiji holds him until he falls asleep, then untangles himself from the blankets and moves from the bedroom to clean up and get ready for the next wave.

It lasts five days.

Eiji’s rocking against him, cock thickening into another knot, and Ash is beautiful underneath him. He’s on his back, head thrown to the side and cheeks flushed red, his mouth parted in a perfect little ‘o’ as he gasps and pants through his orgasm. “Ash,” Eiji moans, hips stuttering to a stop against Ash’s thighs. He leans over, threading his fingers through Ash’s hair and planting kisses all up and down his jawline.

And then Ash turns, looks him in the eye, and very deliberately asks for a hot dog.

Eiji laughs, loud enough to bounce from the walls of the rooms. There have been five days of nothing from Ash’s lips but _Alpha_, and _Please_, so hearing him phrase a complete sentence is a relief in a way. “Okay,” he agrees, smiling. “Okay, yeah. Sure.”

“Thank god,” Ash murmurs, then lifts his head enough to press a kiss against Eiji’s lips. “I can’t stand your cooking.”

They lay tangled in each other, sweat, and slick, and cum drenching their bodies, yet satisfied just to watch each other, just to breathe. Ash looks different. Looks like he’s lost some weight, and there are dark circles under his eyes, a testament to how little rest he actually got. This is normal, Eiji knows. A first heat can last as long as a week, and it’s absolutely normal to come to the end of it and have nothing left to give, no reserves, your body just running on pure instinct.

There’s a little smile on Ash’s lips though as he watches Eiji, and it pulls even further up as Eiji brushes a finger across his brow. “You’re so beautiful,” Eiji says. He still can’t believe how lucky he is, how gorgeous Ash looks naked and how...they’ve given themselves to each other now. They know private details, secrets that no one else does. Eiji’s absolutely enamored of the way Ash cums—of the way he throws his head to the side, almost embarrassed, of the way he keens deeply, a sound ripped from the feral insides of his body.

And Ash has seen him too, now. Ash has seen the way his arms give out after a knot, the way he squints his eyes closed and moans as his cock spurts, the way he whispers “Ash,” every single time, desperate to voice his name as though, if he forgets, the world might end.

And knowing these intimate secrets of each other is pure magic, has brought them even closer than Eiji could have ever imagined. Ash is smiling. He’s tired, and he’s hungry, but he’s smiling. His scent is much fainter now, faded fast now that the heat is over, but if Eiji comes close enough, he can still smell vanilla, and he can’t get enough. Even now, he bends his head, licking up the side of Ash’s neck, shivering as Ash moans again underneath him. He sucks at Ash’s scent gland for only a moment though, not marking him, not allowing himself the chance to even consider it, and instead moves to Ash’s lips, sucking the bottom one into his mouth and letting his tongue tangle with Ash’s.

Ash breaks away first, grinning, breathless even, but very firmly done. “Hot dog,” he says. “I’m serious, Eiji, I need a fucking hotdog.”

“God, you stupid American,” Eiji says fondly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I need to shower, then I will go. Do you think that you can get yourself clean while I am gone?”

“I’m not an invalid,” Ash snaps, his nose wrinkling adorably.

“Oh?” Eiji asks.

Ash rolls over and stands from the bed.

Attempts to stand from the bed.

His legs are shaking like a newborn fawn, and he quickly sits back down again. “I’ll be fine,” he says, words already round again, filled with exhaustion. “I’ll…”

“Sleep,” Eiji orders. “I will bring you a hot dog.”

“With mustard?” Ash calls from the bed, already tucking his legs back under the disgustingly dirty sheets and rolling so his face is smushed into Eiji’s pillow.

Eiji watches as he inhales deeply, smelling for remnants of their mating. He’s filled with warmth, he’s filled with _rightness_ so entirely that he wants to sob. He doesn’t know where to place this emotion, where to put it, what to say…it just _is_. It’s love, and it just_ is_. “With mustard,” he repeats, smiling all the while.

There will be repercussions.

There is only so much Shorter can do to explain away a five day absence of the infamous Ash Lynx.

Max knows too.. He’s called daily, worried, concerned. He’d smelled it on Ash the first day, had been the one to point Ash towards Eiji. Eiji’s grateful for this, and while he still burns with jealousy that Max was the first to scent him, that Max’s alpha smell was everywhere that first day, he’s kept him updated. Let him know that Ash is safe.

The scent won’t air from the apartment naturally for weeks, and so Eiji will need to buy scent blockers for both of them, sprays for the apartment, everything imaginable.

And it will happen again.

This is the biggest concern for him. Ash will most likely demand his suppressants back, despite the fact that they failed this time, despite the fact that the bleed through first heat was far worse than any normal, planned heat should be. Ash had clearly never thought it would be an issue–had never taken the time to learn about what his body might do, because he was so convinced it would never happen to him. Eiji still remembers the confusion and the fear from five days ago. It was so unlike Ash to be uneducated about something, and so they will need to have that conversation, and from that will stem arguments, and anger, and fear.

But today, he is buying two hot dogs. Both will have liberal amounts of mustard and relish, both will look absolutely disgusting, and both will be devoured by a hungry omega.

Today, he will help Ash clean up. They will bicker. They might fight. At some point, Ash will find his copy of _The Old Man and The Sea_ and will notice it’s had pages dog-eared, and will lecture Eiji on the horrible implications of such a fact.

Today Eiji will smile.

Because Ash will be Ash, and Eiji will be Eiji, and they will both be very much in love.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Twitter](twitter.com/agentcoop1)


End file.
